Lifeboat



Aug. 18,. 1959 E. W. NICOL LIFEBOAT Filed June 8, 1956 ll; vzh for L". WN160! WWW rr/s.

United States Patent Cfiice Fatented Aug. 18, 1959 LIFEBOAT Ernst WillyNicol, Husum, Nordsee, Germany Application June 8, 1956, Serial No.590,246

1 Claim. (Cl. 9-4) This invention relates to a lifeboat with closed orclosable deck with at least one boarding hatchway.

It is known that the problem in the case of lifeboats is that they aretaken into use at the last moment, so that a large area is necessary forboarding them. On the other hand a lifeboat when floating must beprotected by every manner and means against the penetration of waterinto its open hull and as a result a closed construction has already'been proposed to afford this protection. However, the known boats aregenerally provided with only one hatchway for boarding which is alsoused for disembarkation. Boats are also known with several small boaringhatchways. Disembarkation, when it is necessary to tranship survivors atsea, is extremely difiicult to get out through the large area,especially when it is stormy and the area cannot be just opened becauseof water and wind-pressure. In this case the boarding hatch must be usedto bring up the survivors one at a time from the hull through thehatchway.

By means of the invention an unobstructed large access hatch opening isprovided and this opening is so disposed that it fits organically in thesuperstructure and is protected to a great extent at its edges thereby,so that the opening and the superstructure are sufficiently strong alsoto withstand the pressure of wind and water. To attain this constructionthe superstructure must be given a laterally domed shape, namely a shapewhich enhances the strength *by curvature and is advantageous from aflowtechnical point of view. In addition, other points have beenconsidered so as to construct the superstructure in a suitable mannerfor walking thereon and entering the hull.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of examplein the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of alifeboat according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 a front elevation of the lifeboat, half in section;

Fig. 4 a longitudinal section through the boat, and

Fig. 5 a horizontal section.

As shown in the drawing, the lifeboat consists of a boat hull 1 and asuperstructure 2. The superstructure 2 extends fore and aft andlaterally domed fashion down to the hull 1 and has at the top adjacentthe fore and aft ends thereof a boarding hatchway 3, 3 includingmanually controlled hinged covers. Between the boarding hatchways 3, 3'the superstructure 2 is substantially fiat and provided with anunobstructed large access hatch opening which occupies nearly all of thearea between the hatchways 3, 3'. The access opening 4 can be closed bya longitudinally displaceable and foldable tarpaulin roof 5 sealed alongthe opposite sides of the opening 4. Edges 5' of the roof 5 engage overa rim of the access opening 4 to ensure a watertight closure. Thesuperstructure 2 only covers part of the width of the boat so that thehatchways 3, 3' and the hatch opening 4 are easily accessible,

0n the boat hull 1 on both sides of the superstructure a narrow gangway6 is provided under which are air tanks 7 with inner longitudinal walls7 forming a vertical extension of the lateral walls of thesuperstructure. The air tanks 7 are divided into separate watertightcells or compartments by bulkheads 8. These compartments may be providedfor cleaning purposes with openings accessible from the interior of thelifeboat and closable by water-tight sealing covers 9. The boardinghatchways 3, 3' have each a high coaming 10. Sufficient space isprovided for the helmsman in the open hatchways 3, 3' or under them whenthey are closed. The helmsman can either sit on a fold-up seat 11 orstand on a platform 12 arranged thereunder. A good view is insured, evenwith the hatchway 3, 3' closed, by windows 13 provided in thesuperstructure 2. The hatchways 3, 3' enable the helmsman to manipulate,in case of emergency, hoisting hooks 14, 14' located within his reach atthe ends of the hull 1. Seats or benches 15 for the persons to beaccommodated in the boat are arranged in known manner transversely tothe longitudinal direction of the boat and in pairs so that theoccupants can sit back to back. Additional air tanks 16 can be arrangedunder these benches. Between the benches or pairs of benches drivinglevers 17 are arranged for manually actuating a gear 18 for driving ascrew 19. Hammocks 20 can also be provided in addition to the benches.As indicated at 21, a hand grip rail is provided extending immediatelyadjacent opposite sides of the access hatch opening and adjacent thehatches 3, 3'. When the occupant desires to disembark from the lifeboat,he may stand on the benches 15 and grasp the rail 21 which is readilyaccessible at the sides of the opening 4.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believedthat the construction will at once be apparent, and while there isherein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, itis nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

In a lifeboat, an elongated hull including a substantially flat, arcuatebottom merging into flattened arcuate side portions, a substantiallyflat superstructure integral with and rising from said hull, saidsuperstructure including arcuate flattened side portions, horizontalwalkways extending inwardly from the side portions of said hull andintersecting the arcuate side portions of said superstructure, anunobstructed access hatch extending through and substantially the lengthand width of said superstructure to provide unimpeded ingress and egressduring emergency conditions, a flexible hatch cover displaceably andsealingly retained at opposite sides of said access hatch and foldablelongitudinally thereof toward at least one end of said hull, a boardinghatchway in said superstructure at one end of said access hatch, aplurality of transverse seats, longitudinally spaced in said hull, and ahand grip rail on the arcuate side portions of said superstructureimmediately adjacent opposite sides of said access hatch and extendingalong the major extent thereof for facilitating disembarking from saidhull by standing on the seats and grasping said hand rail and availablefor use regardless of the position of the hatch cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,181,009 Hoy Apr. 25, 1916 1,295,893 Hartz Mar. 4, 1919 1,408,130Newcomb Feb. 28, 1922 1,801,480 Barnett Apr. 21, 1931

